


Sweet vigilante

by larrycaring



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (not too serious), 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Police, Crime Fighting, Crimes & Criminals, DC Comics References, Gang Violence, Gunshot Wounds, Harry wants him to stop putting himself in danger, I mean... you know, I think? let me know but I just suck at detailing so to me it's not too graphic, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Justice, LIKE ALL THE TIME, LOUIS CALLS HARRY 'DARLING', Louis defends people, M/M, Marvel Comics References, Minor Violence, Non-Graphic Violence, Police, Police Officer Harry Styles, Protectiveness, Secret Identity, Strangers to Lovers, Superhero Louis, Vigilante Louis, again; not graphic imo, but tagging it in case, first scene is lowkey inspired by DC's Titans, i guess, if you love Arrow; you'll like this, it's more mentioned, not the main characters, only a minor character and he doesn't hurt anyone either, read notes for trigger warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 16:10:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20763194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larrycaring/pseuds/larrycaring
Summary: The officer might have felt Louis’ observing look, because he hung his head. He pushed his bottom lip out, looking as if he’d just discovered the badge for the first time. When their gaze met again, Louis recognized a spark in the man’s eyes. “If you know my name, it is only fair to tell me yours.”Louis didn’t try to contain his chuckle this time. “It doesn’t work like that, darling,” he replied, pointing to the patent mask covering his face. It only hid his eyes and nose, but Styles did not know Louis personally. Though Niall did say to Louis that his cheekbones would be his downfall someday.or five times Officer Styles crossed paths with the mysterious masked vigilante and the one time the vigilante wasn’t masked.





	Sweet vigilante

**Author's Note:**

> Please, ignore if there are any inaccuracies with how these police officers execute their jobs in this fic. I am no expert and I have zero experience within this field.
> 
> Also **trigger warnings **for violence, fighting, a bit of blood, alcohol consumption and a dad being a drunk asshole towards his daughter (no one is hurt here except for the guy and he wasn’t going to hurt his daughter or anything because I can't - and don't want to - write this kind of shit. But yeah). All these things are not too descriptive because I actually suck at writing and I am terrible at detailing details. Oops.
> 
> Title lyrics from "Cityscape Skybaby", by Super Furry Animals. (Also, it was too tempting. Because... Sweet vigilante, sweet creature... *drum rolls*)
> 
> Thank you [Liz](https://twitter.com/rogueskimo) for beta'ing, as always. :D Love you!

**1.**

Louis landed on the roof of a car in what Deadpool would surely like to call ‘the superhero landing’. Louis snorted to himself, always amused whenever he did something that reminded him of comics. He stood upright as he surveyed the dark alley. He knew the group of men was going to meet up here. All he had to do was to wait for them.

And soon enough, that was what happened.

The leader of the gang came first, his three associates close behind him. They were all dressed in black, and Louis wanted to bang his head against the wall with how pathetic they looked. They thought themselves above everyone else, aiming to appear strong and entice fear. Some people did fear them, but there was no pride in being a scary, ugly monster. Louis couldn’t stand them.

When the group finally took notice of Louis looming over them, they stopped together. Then the leader smirked and huffed, as if the mere presence of Louis was amusing rather than anything else. “Go away, kid,” he said, voice so unnerving and the confidence in his tone so laughably annoying that Louis wanted to grit his teeth.

Instead he smirked, as clearly as it was possible for him to do. With the mask on his face, he had to convey some emotions with only his mouth. And then, without a word, he sprung into action. He jumped on the leader, who let out a surprised scream at the motion. Louis would be cackling if he wasn’t too busy fighting.

When he heard the sound of pistols being drawn out, Louis acted fast. He wrapped an arm around the leader’s neck, caging him between his arms. The man’s back was plastered against Louis’ front; he smell of him would have been enough to make him puke if it wasn’t a strategic solution. One of the imbeciles pulled the trigger of his gun, not having realized what Louis had done. The bullet, instead of putting Louis out of action, went right through the leader’s leg instead. The dude had poor aim, it seemed.

The three men stilled, at the cry of pain from their leader, and Louis’ smirk widened. With his free hand holding his favorite knife, he brought it to the man’s hip. He was sure the criminal felt the sharp object when he tensed in Louis’ arms. Louis then brought his mouth closer to the man’s ear. “If you don’t close your filthy business, I will find you, and the next bullet will go through your heart. Understood?” The man struggled in his arms, and Louis tightened his grasp, not caring when the guy started choking. “Understood?!” This time, the man nodded.

Louis did not release his hold. He made sure to make eye contact with the three other men, who were still very much on the defence, their guns trained on Louis. They were waiting for the moment Louis would let go and they’d have an open window to shoot him. Louis wasn’t going to let that happen.

Louis pocketed his knife and raised his other arm with his grappling gun. Just as he released the leader, his feet left the ground. A few seconds later and he was in the air, already reaching the roof as he heard a gun fired, but the bullets would fall short, he knew that. Then the sound of sirens started blaring, rapidly approaching, and Louis smiled, pleased with the development of the night. 

He had known the gang was going to show up at this rendezvous point, and he had wanted to give them a little fright and let them know he was there, ready to stop the criminals whenever and however necessary He didn’t know if the cops he called were going to catch them all, but he hoped not. He wanted the other men to escape, to let his threat travel throughout the underworld. They needed to know they weren’t so supreme.

Louis put his hood on and started walking towards the roof door, when something definitely unexpected happened.

_ Someone _ happened.

“Freeze!”

Louis did as told without a second thought. He inhaled, unable to contain the smile spreading across his face.

He knew that voice. He knew it too well.

“Hands in the air,” the voice instructed from behind him. “Do it slowly.” His assured tone left no room for argument. It was steady, confident. Louis would almost get aroused if the situation had been different.

Instead, he obeyed, slowly but steadily raising his arms above his head.

“Turn around.”

He obliged the voice, doing so ever indolently. He was rewarded by the sight of Officer Styles, dressed in his police uniform. How he looked good, even with a gun pointed at him, Louis didn’t know.

Styles squinted, his eyes narrowing to slits. “Don’t try anything.” Louis genuinely wondered what the officer had intended to do. He was standing on the roof of the building opposite of the one Louis was on, and Louis knew one thing: Officer Styles was not going to shoot. There were a few other questions going through Louis’ mind right now: How did Styles get up on the roof so fast? Had he been waiting for Louis already? But those questions would have to remain unanswered for the time being.

Louis made sure to check that the officer was standing relatively far off the edge, and then pressed the button on his suit in a rapid movement. The triggered tranquilizer dart flung, hitting the policeman right in the neck. Louis noticed the way Officer Styles’ eyes widened, one hand reaching to his neck to pull it out. But the effect was immediate, and his body crumpled to the roof.

Louis winced, not very happy with how the situation had turned out, but it was inevitable. He was hiding his identity for reason, and it wasn’t time for the intrepid and charming officer to know his secret yet.

**2.**

“All units in the vicinity on Maple between 7th and 8th at a gas station. 211 and shooting just occurred.”

Louis was just getting out of the shower, a towel around his waist and his hair still dripping, when his attention got caught. He always kept tabs on robberies specifically, after a close friend of his had a bad experience in a jewelry store he worked at. The poor lad was still very much traumatized. And well, if Louis could save the day, why not at least try to interfere? Who knows, maybe Officer Styles would be there.

Dropping the towel to the floor, Louis rushed to the briefcase by his bed that he always kept with him. Unlocking the secret code in no time, he smirked down at the suit waiting to be slipped on.

The gas station lot was empty when he arrived, though Louis had no doubt a unit would show up soon enough. There was no robber or terrorized owner visible from the window, so Louis assumed the show was going down in the back of the shop. He rounded the station, not at all surprised when the back door happened to be a fire exit door. Louis was fabulous at getting those open. With a few precious seconds wasted on that, he forced the fire exit latch open, and came face-to-face with the armed robber.

“What the—” the thief started to say, immediately pointing his gun at him.

Louis smirked internally, catching the guy’s arm and twisting it, grabbing the gun with his other hand. The man yelled in pain, and Louis rolled his eyes - he’d been here all of five seconds and he was already annoyed with the whining of his opponent. With the butt of the gun, he knocked the bandit out. The guy was nearly not as skilled as him, it seemed. It was probably an amateur.

A few seconds later, the distant sounds of sirens reached Louis’ ears. Louis ignored them for now, turning to the gas station owner to check on him. He was standing in the corner of the back room. He was a very old man, and his face seemed kind, though disturbed by the panic. Louis really wouldn’t understand how people could take advantage of elderly people like that.

Even if the old man looked like he was about to melt with the wall, he did not seem scared of Louis. On the contrary, he brought his hands together, shaking them as a relieved smile chased away his petrified expression. “Oh, thank you, thank you!”

Louis nodded without a word, glancing at the open door leading to the store. He could see Officer Styles running out of his car with one of his partners, towards the station. Louis looked back to the man. “You’ll be in good hands, now.”

And just as the policemen reached the door, Styles’ eyes looking up to meet Louis’ gaze, the latter smiled and fled through the backdoor he came in.

**3.**

Contrary to what people believed, Louis would not only deal with criminals. Sometimes, accidents happened. Unfortunate, devastating incidents. But Louis would never back down from saving anyone if he could. So when a fire started burning down an entire building full of apartments, Louis didn’t hesitate once. He was no hero, or fireman. But once again, if he could help, he had to try.

“That was very stupid, what you did back there,” Officer Styles said to him later as the day melted into night. They were in a dark alley where Louis had managed to knock out some guy running from Styles himself. Louis was a lucky guy, meeting his favorite officer for the second time of the day.

He did not say anything to that, admiring the way Styles handcuffed the unconscious man with ease. Louis knew he’d better take off, but it wasn’t often that he and Styles would find themselves alone. Usually, there would be fires and overall chaos around them. Not tonight though.

“Stupid,” Officer Styles huffed, putting two hands on his knee to stand up. His green eyes met Louis’, trying to maybe catch a glimpse of the man behind the mask. “But very brave.” They were standing so close, and it would be so very easy for Styles to attempt something.

Louis smiled this time. He hadn’t noticed how green the man’s eyes were before. They reminded Louis of a vast forest. A place away from chaos, with only animals reigning over their territory. Even though, sometimes, Louis thought humans were worse than animals. They thought the city of their kingdom, and he knew peace could never be found.

“Was that a compliment?” he said, making his voice huskier than usual. (If anyone asked, Louis would deny it.) “Does that mean I get a pass tonight?” When Styles tilted his head on the side adorably, Louis almost wanted to laugh, endeared. “Won’t you try to arrest me?”

The officer eyed him up and down, seeming to genuinely contemplate. Even if he tried anything, Louis would not go willingly. He hoped it wouldn’t go that way, however. “Not tonight, no.”

The admitted answer had been spoken faintly, and it sent shivers down Louis’ spine. His smile turned into a grin, and his eyes caught sight of the badge on Styles’ chest. The only light in the alley made it shine ever briefly when the policeman moved slightly. It read, **H. Styles**. At least now, he knew the first letter of his first name.

The officer might have felt Louis’ observing look, because he hung his head. He pushed his bottom lip out, looking as if he’d just discovered the badge for the first time. When their gaze met again, Louis recognized a spark in the man’s eyes. “If you know my name, it is only fair to tell me yours.”

Louis didn’t try to contain his chuckle this time. “It doesn’t work like that, darling,” he replied, pointing to the patent mask covering his face. It only hid his eyes and nose, but Styles did not know Louis personally. Though Niall did say to Louis that his cheekbones would be his downfall someday.

The policeman bit his lips, visibly trying to hold back a smile. Louis’ hands started twitching in anticipation. Then, the radio from the police car crackled, a voice transmitting orders. Styles’ head snapped towards it, and he glanced over at Louis, almost as if saying, ‘Stay put, don’t leave.’

But when Styles turned around, Louis knew it was his cue. They would meet again eventually, it was inevitable.

**4.**

Louis plopped down on his chair, one hand holding the hamburger he was thoroughly enjoying, and the other hand changing the radio stations back and forth, hoping to find something interesting this afternoon. He was bored out of his mind. He had finished work earlier, and one of his coworkers had been an asshole, so all Louis wanted to do was kick some ass. Even the boxing bag hanging in his warehouse had fallen short.

Allowing his mind to wander a bit, Louis wondered what Officer Styles was up to. He would be lying if he said the man hadn’t been occupying his thoughts in the last few months. After all, it was hard not to think of him. Wherever Louis went, Styles would follow, and vice versa. Louis had started to like their cat and mouse game, though he was pretty sure it was one-sided. If anything, Louis was probably a pain in the ass. It wasn’t like he was very popular among the men enforcing the law. Who liked ‘one dangerous vigilante’ after all?

And yet, something told Louis that Officer Styles was enjoying it, too. It all had started in February, six months ago. Louis was taking care of some gangling killing, which was something very recurring within the city. The fight had exploded over dinner, though it had to be expected. The two leaders meeting never agreed on anything, and they always settled their disagreements with violence. Wine was nothing in comparison to the blood spilled wherever they went, and they never cared if innocents got caught in the crossfire. God, Louis despised them all.

Long story short, Louis literally saved Styles that day. The officer had been taking shots, hiding behind an overthrown table for a cover. One of the criminals had tried to sneak up on him from behind, but Louis had seen him. He had thrown one of his disk projectiles, hitting the man right in the shoulder and making him lose his balance. Styles had heard the yelp, thank God, and wasted no time in taking the matter into his own hands.

In the meantime, Louis had taken care of the remaining men with the help of Styles’ colleagues. Louis thought of himself working better alone, he had to admit that they had formed a pretty good team that day.

When the policemen finally had managed to restrain the felons, Louis had made himself scarce. Not without making the first eye contact with Officer Styles, a name Louis only got to know a month later in the light of another quarrel among criminals. Louis guessed it was very opportune that the crime rate was quite high in their town.

Months passed, and Louis oftentimes found himself in the company of the officer haunting in his dreams now. Which was a bit odd, but also made a lot of sense, Louis assumed. Their paths met over, over and over again. There was never time to bond more, or exchange a few words like that night in the alley. And yet, was it possible to feel close to a person without even really knowing them?

Styles felt like a magnet. Like danger and adrenaline were attracting Louis - the mere prospect of having the chance to stumble upon Officer Styles was oftentimes the highlight of Louis’ day. It didn’t know what it said about him.

Louis’ computer beeped, almost startling him. He pushed his feet off the desk, leaning forward as he read what had been notified on the screen. And when he did, his blood boiled. He hated receiving this kind of notifications.

273A. He hated 273A. He wasted no time putting on his suit and his mask, heading out.

The small house was utterly ramshackle, and the neighborhood didn’t look in better condition, but Louis walked towards it with assurance and anger burning through him. One of the front windows were broken, only half-covered with cardboard in a futile attempt to keep the coldness of November at bay.

Only when he reached the porch did he hear the voice of a man.

“Open the fucking door, Emma!”

The words were slurred, obviously the result of too much alcohol. It was a disgusting voice, one that made Louis’ stomach churn. Then the peremptory order was followed by loud noises, and Louis realized the inebriated man was now pounding on the door. The child locked in the bathroom must be so terrified. Louis closed his fists.

With his right foot, he busted the door down in an instant.

He was right about the man’s state. When he tried to turn to face Louis, he almost fell against the wall behind him. The living room (Louis supposed it was the living room) was very small, with only a few pieces of furniture. But Louis couldn’t dwell on that because, even though the guy was slow in his movements, he was going to attack the intruder.

Louis jumped into action, promptly managing to slam the guy’s head against the wall. It hit with a loud thud, and the man groaned, but Louis ignored him, putting pressure on his hold by tightening his fingers around the man’s head. With his other arm, Louis was able to cage the man against the wall.

“Don’t get out, Emma,” Louis instructed, and he hoped to God she was going to obey. The little girl had called the police, crying about her father’s violent behavior, and Louis would never allow a child to suffer like that. Not if he could help it. No, Louis had to act fast and hard.

In a brusque gesture, Louis sent the man tumbling to the ground. Without delay, he drove a kick into the man’s stomach, earning a groan of pain. Louis delivered another punch, and another, and another. And then he dropped to the floor, straddling the man. His vision turned red. Everything fell silent, except for the man’s sounds of pain that Louis thrived on, encouraging him to go harder.

He didn’t notice or hear when police officers breezed into the house. He didn’t hear the warning yelled at him, didn’t even register the familiar voice. He didn’t see anything except the man before him.

Something collided with him, and the sight of the bloodied face of the man had disappeared. The ceiling met his gaze, and Louis gasped as his back hit the ground. He recognized the man. It wasn’t Styles, but his usual partner.

And Louis only heard Styles say, ‘Eric, wait,’ before Louis overthrew the officer in an attempt to get away. There was no way in hell he was going to be brought in alongside such a disgusting man.

“Stop, stop!” Styles yelled, probably at Louis, but he didn’t listen. He disarmed Styles’ partner and threw him against the wall just like he’d done to the other man. He pointed the gun at Styles a few seconds, and Styles was doing the same thing, but they both knew no shot was going to be fired. Louis might be violent, but he’d never shoot at anyone just like that. Certainly not at Styles.

Styles met his gaze a brief second. He was standing in front of the door, the only exit. He was pleading for Louis to calm down, his eyes assessing the scene, his partner, Louis again, the then unconscious man on the floor.

Louis leaped into a run and aimed for the window. Styles followed his movement with the gun pointed at him, but Louis only heard the sound of his body colliding with cardboard instead of gunfire.

He hid away until he saw the man being whisked away in the police car. Styles didn’t go - he stayed behind with the daughter. Louis could see her shaking, but soon enough a car pulled up and a woman with short blonde hair ran toward the little girl. She screamed, ‘auntie’ before being hugged and taken away.

Only when Styles stood still in front of the house as night fell that Louis got out of his hiding. He jumped from the tree, the huge gap of high unaffecting him.

And Styles didn’t look surprised to see him back.

“You’ve got some serious anger issues,” he called out, and there was no teasing in his voice like last time. He looked upset, his smooth face pinched by a scowl.

Louis stopped at a reasonable distance, tipping his chin up. He could not deny it. He knew he sometimes went too far. That was scared him the most. He did not want to become a vigilante that spilled blood as if he didn’t care. He wasn’t cruel. But his anger got the best of him tonight. “I can’t always control it,” he confessed in almost a whisper.

The neighborhood was surprisingly calm, but Styles looked to be listening attentively to him anyway. His sole attention was focused on the masked vigilante, and for the first time in months, Louis wondered what Styles thought of him. Like, truly thought of him. Was he disgusted? Afraid? Did he have resenting feelings towards him?

“Is Emma going to be okay?” Louis asked eventually, when it was clear that Styles was not going to say anything to his concession.

Styles’ lips were pursed, and he actually looked conflicted. Like he didn’t know if he should be talking to Louis in the first place. He really shouldn’t. “Thankfully, she does have a decent family. I hope. I’ll be keeping an eye on her.”

Louis nodded. He waited, for Harry to say something, hell, even show handcuffs and threaten to arrest him. But instead, Harry surprised him by bursting out, “You could’ve been shot. If you weren’t so extraordinary skilled, my partner would have been allowed to open fire. Is that what you want?” 

Louis blinked, surprised by the sudden outburst. It wasn’t like Styles cared for his safety ... was it? “Why do you care?”

“Do you enjoy what you’re doing?” Harry retorted in lieu of an answer. The furrow between his eyebrows had deepened. Louis vaguely thought that he had never seen Styles this angry before. Angry, or even … concerned.

Louis was never one to fidget, but under Styles’ piercing and imposing look, he wanted to. “I do what I do to protect people from those kinds of monsters.” He knew Harry’s answer before he said it aloud.

“We exist for a reason,” the officer almost yelled, pointing at his uniform.

“You can’t always do it right,” Louis gritted through his teeth.

“Oh, and doing what you do is right? It’s not justice, it’s plain violence.”

“I’m not perfect, but I save people, same as you,” Louis said, a snarl almost ripped from him. “Why do you fucking care, anyway?”

Harry didn’t immediately answer, chewing on his lips. “You’re a citizen. You’re under my protection.”

This time, Louis snorted. It sounded ugly when it broke the silence of the night. “I’ll be fine,” he said, before he softened his voice. Despite what Harry tried to mask, he could decipher the true feeling. Harry was concerned for him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re worried about me, Officer.” He said it teasingly, tone almost dripping with allurement.

Styles didn’t seem in a mood to joke. He narrowed his eyes, taking a step forward. Louis immediately took a step back. The man didn’t show any indication he had noticed Louis’ behavior. “I won’t always be there to protect your ass.”

Louis made a show of quickly checking his behind. “Looks fine to me.”

And the improbable happened. Styles smiled. It definitely wasn’t meant to happen, as Styles quickly recovered and his scowl returned.

Louis’ mouth twitched up. “I like it better when you’re not frowning. You have a gorgeous smile.”

Styles genuinely looked taken aback at the sudden and daring compliment, and Louis dared to say he almost looked flustered. He expected a classic, cheesy, ‘Are you flirting with me’ in return, but instead, Styles composed his face once again. Playing hard to get, Louis liked that. “If you want me to smile, then stop putting yourself in danger.”

Louis’ smile dropped, just because, for a second, he almost felt bad for making the beau Officer worry. But they both had jobs, and this was Louis’.

As if a reminder, car headlights beamed. Harry’s partner was back. Louis took the momentary distraction to flee, not without giving Styles his last words. Louis loved having the last word.

“No can’t do, darling.”

**5.**

Louis had been following this lead for over a month now, waiting for the perfect opportunity to bust the group of criminals. Of course, he shouldn’t be surprised that Styles would be on this case, too. And undercover, out of all the things.

“I was handling it,” Styles gritted through his teeth, loud enough for Louis to hear him in spite of all the bullets being fired at the thick door.

They had taken cover in a small room and had blocked the only issue. Not very smart of them, but even Louis admitted when he was being cornered. He had a few bullets left in his gun, and Styles was probably at the same stage as him. And yet, the police officer wanted to argue.

Louis smirked. “I’m happy to see you too, darling.” But that didn’t draw a smile from the officer.

“You really can’t help yourself, can you?” the man almost shouted.

Louis frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and fully facing Harry. “Are you still mad at me for last time?”

Styles replied by shooting another question. “You just love putting yourself in danger, huh?”

“I’m just trying to protect people! How is this any different than what you do anyway?” Louis retorted, and for a brief moment, he was amused by how he and Styles sounded like a married couple having the same argument over and over.

Styles opened his mouth, but closed it. Louis thought he had gotten the last word, but then the officer turned to the door. “It’s gotten oddly quiet, don’t you think?”

Louis looked over. The guys on the other side of the door had stopped shooting. It sounded like they had given up, but Louis knew better. His mind quickly sifted through all the possibilities.

“Take cover,” he advised the officer, following his own advice by shielding himself behind large boxes of metal. His hands flew to his utility belt to grab what he needed. The following events would be quite explosive.

Thankfully, Styles obeyed without a word, almost like he trusted Louis blindly and thought his judgment to be right. It almost did something to Louis’ heart, but he could not very well dwell on it too much. Especially when one of his assumptions finally came true.

The door burst open in a loud bang, and Louis didn’t wait one second to throw his own explosive back at them. The first men coming through were sent flying back, while Louis and Styles immediately started shooting at the remaining standing men. Louis’ gun was however quickly empty, and he had to rely on his fists. He did manage to disarm a man at some point, and used the man’s body as a shield when another started shooting at him.

When finally all the men were on the ground, Louis paused and took in the scenery. No one was moving anymore, except for that one man close to Louis, but the latter swiftly gave him a kick to knock him out.

Louis smiled proudly, turning to his lovely, but temporary, partner. “Hey, we make a pretty good team, you and I.” His smile instantly fell when he noticed Styles clutching a hand to his hip. Louis thought he caught red stains, but his brain was moving in slow motion.

The officer smiled, but it lacked liveliness. “Yeah, we do, huh?” He promptly collapsed, a pained sound escaping him as the blood started to seep through his fingers.

“Hey, hey,” Louis exclaimed, rushing to his side in an instant. “Oh, don’t you dare!” He rapidly tore a piece of his black shirt, pressing the fabric to the wound. Styles hissed at the pressure, and his hurting face was quite a sad sight for Louis’ eyes. He really did not like it.

He didn’t ask for Styles’ permission before reaching for the officer’s left ear, pulling out the earpiece Louis guessed he was wearing. He pushed it into his own ear, and called for Styles’ backup. “Officer Styles is down, requesting immediate emergency. 9966 Depot Road Hanford, CA 93230.”

Styles was fully laying down now, and Louis’ hands were covered in his blood. He kept putting pressure on, but despite the blood loss, it didn’t seem like any important organs had been touched. “You’ll be fine,” he reassured the man.

“I know,” Styles couldn’t help but retort, as if wanting to have the last word here. It made Louis smile.

“That’s the danger of our jobs, huh?” Louis couldn’t help but tease, which earned him a glare from Styles. Yep, he was definitely going to be okay.

Louis dove his hand into his pocket, and then placed the object in Styles’ hand. The officer’s glassy eyes looked down at the small dark, object hand — a USB — with a frown, before looking up at Louis. The latter almost got lost in the verdant eyes before he spoke. “These are all the intels I gathered myself about the big guy. Hope it’ll help with whatever you had uncovered so far.”

The corner of Styles’ mouth lifted then. “Is this some sort of compensation for ruining my undercover and getting shot?”

Louis hid his smile by leaning in, pressing his lips to Styles’ forehead. He did not know what had come over him, but he couldn’t even regret his sudden gesture, especially when Styles was looking at him like he was encountering some sort of enchanting beings.

“Wasn’t ever my intention for you to be hurt,” he confessed softly.

Styles fell quiet then, his green eyes pouring into Louis’. He was staring for so long, that for a moment, it was as if Styles was seeing his face behind the mask. It made Louis feel so many emotions at once.

Sirens wailed outside, breaking the trance Louis was in. He brought Styles’ hands to the wound so that he’d keep pressure until reinforcements arrived. He dared to caress one of the soft hands with a finger a moment before standing up.

“Speedy recovery, darling. I’ll catch you soon.”

**☓☓☓☓**

Later that day, Louis hacked into the hospital computers to get Styles’ room number. That was how Louis learned the officer’s first name.

When Styles woke up and his eyes fell on the bouquet of flowers, the card read:

_ I knew you liked me, but no need to take a bullet for me next time, Harry Styles. Get well soon, darling. _

_ P.S.: Name suits you. _

_ Until next time, _

_ Louis. _

_ (I got your name, so it’s only fair I give you mine.) _

**+1.**

Louis was bored to death.

The afternoon was calm, too deadly quiet, and the last customer he had encountered had been one hour ago now. His bum was hurting for sitting on his stool for so long, but he had cleaned every single aisle of the hardware store this morning already. In conclusion: he was bored.

The only sounds heard were the air con in the background, and Louis drumming his fingers on his desk. Until the bell above the door rang.

Louis perked up, straightening up as the customer advanced. His heart stopped then.

Harry had come in.

Oh, lovely Harry that Louis hadn’t seen since the accident. It had been two and a half weeks now, but those had been the longest weeks ever. Louis just did not think they were going to meet again when Louis was certainly not wearing his suit.

“Erm, hi,” Harry said, with the loveliest, kindest smile ever. “I’m looking for flower pots? The ones put in front of the store are very lovely.” Louis thought it was the first time during his time here that someone had come into the store to ask for flower pots. Usually, people would ask for toolboxes, staples, tape measures, even though these things could be easily found if people searched better with their fucking eyes.

But never flower pots.

Louis was endeared.

But he also couldn’t speak, because Harry would most certainly recognize his voice. This wasn’t some Superman shit, and Louis had never thought of using a voice modulator before. Maybe Arrow had the right idea. Louis regretted not listening to Niall. (Not that he would ever tell him that.)

He was saved from answering when something awful happened. And really, it was fate testing him at this point, Louis was convinced.

The bell rang again, but this time it wasn’t exactly a customer.

A hooded man dressed in all black from head to toe was pointing a trembling gun at them. “Hands above the head, and give me the money! Now!” he yelled, directing his gun at Harry to, no doubt, add some pressure on Louis. His whole threat had lacked ferocity. Another amateur that didn’t know better.

Harry listened and raised his hands behind his head, and Louis realized he was in his civilian clothes, but probably had a weapon somewhere on him. But the thief already had a gun pointed at him, and Louis feared what the frightened guy would do under tough circumstances.

So he did the only thing he could think of. He blew his cover.

“Seriously,” he said, scoffing. Harry looked at him with wide eyes, silently ordering him to stay silent. He hadn’t registered yet, it seemed. It only made Louis continue. (And maybe he was playing with fire.) Looking into the thief’s eyes, he deadpanned, “You’re really _ trying _ to rob a hardware store, of all places?”

“Enough,” the masked man shout brokenly, waving his gun at Harry. “I-I’ll shoot him.”

Louis’ eyes darkened. “No, you won’t.”

His hand flew to the raised arm, lifting it as such an angle that shouldn’t be reached, that the thief let out a strangled scream. Louis then used his foot to kick the man behind his knee, effectively bringing the pathetic man to the ground. The guy screamed again when Louis bent his arm. The fingers around the gun opened, letting the weapon drop to the floor. Harry wasted no time kicking it away with his foot, finally drawing his own gun.

Louis smirked at him. Harry was acting very professional, though his green eyes were staring at Louis with something akin to stupor.

“He’s all yours, darling.”

Harry’s eyes widened even more, but he composed himself quickly, catching the guy when Louis threw the man over like he was nothing more but a sack of potatoes.

And it was his cue.

Harry couldn’t take care of handcuffing someone and chasing after Louis. So Louis took his opportunity. He turned around, only catching Harry yell, “Hey,” before he took off through the backdoor.

He ran. He ran until his lungs burnt and his throat hurt. He ran until his legs permitted him to.

He always ran away from Harry, but it was always as a masked vigilante.

Now Harry had seen his face, and Louis was crumbling under the full weight of what he’d just done.

Louis was fucked.

**☓☓☓☓**

Louis dropped on the chair at his desk. The chair budged under the force of the movement, and he gripped the table so forcefully that his knuckles were white. He stayed in the same position for a few minutes, only staring at the changing wallpapers on his computer screen.

He had wanted nothing more but go to his apartment and take a cold shower, but his paranoia had gotten the best of him. His mind couldn’t stop playing the images of Harry aiming a gun at a thief, and yet his wide eyes transfixed on Louis instead. Under any circumstances, Louis would have been flattered. But he had no idea what had gotten through Harry’s mind, if he even knew anyway. Louis just knew he couldn’t go back to his apartment in fear of seeing Harry leaning against his door, handcuffs hanging by the finger.

Louis gulped, dropping his forehead against the cold surface of his desk. He had fucking kissed the man’s forehead. He had bought him flowers. In what world did Louis think flirting with a man enforcing laws when he was breaking them was a good idea?

“Idiot,” he murmured to himself, and then his computer beeped, like sending some sort of confirmation. He huffed. He straightened up, leaning his back against the chair and running his hands through his hair.

Okay, Harry might be aware of his identity. Or just his face, really.

_ Who was he kidding? _ Harry had probably used his skills to find out everything there was to know about Louis. Not that there was a lot to find.

“Never had the chance to thank you for the flowers.”

Louis jumped to his feet, grabbing the metal stick he always kept on his desk.

Harry Styles was standing right there, in the middle of Louis’ secret warehouse. A sight Louis would have never imagined, even up until a few minutes ago.

At the sight of the stick, Harry raised his hands placidly, arching his eyebrows at Louis. “Easy, darling,” he said softly.

Louis always prided himself in being super attentive of his surroundings, but Harry had training and he was … Always full of surprises, wasn’t he? Just like now, using the pet name on Louis like it was casual for them. Louis ignored how his heartbeat had taken a sudden fast rhythm.

“What are you—?” Louis asked, not finishing his question. He slowly lowered the stick, but kept careful eyes on Styles. No matter how his stupid crush (yes, at this point he was admitting it) could blind him, it wasn’t like he’d lower his guard. Louis couldn’t predict what the man would do.

After all this time, Officer Styles had finally caught him. Who knew what his reaction would be?

But Harry only looked behind Louis, at the desk where Louis kept the stolen police radio, and at the computer screen where all the info and data were stocked in. He looked around at the punching bag hanging and the few guns Louis had gathered over the years, exposed inside a box of glass. (Niall always said Louis was a diva.)

After a long beat of silence, Harry spoke, bringing his eyes back on Louis. “Impressive.”

Louis squinted his eyes, his fingers tightening on the stick, more out of nervousness than anything. He didn’t think he could ever fight Harry, even if he had to. “How did you even find me?”

Harry shrugged a shoulder. “Handcuffed the guy to the counter in a second, called for my partner as I chased after you. I used to win all the relay races at school, I’ll have you know.”

Louis tried to contain his smirk, he really did. “So, what now, Officer Styles?”

Harry narrowed his eyes, his chest moving as he huffed a chuckle. “What now, indeed.” He let a beat of silence passed, before carrying on. “You know what’s funny?” Louis tilted his head. “I’ve always imagined myself catching you, handcuffing you. But never bringing you to the police station.”

Louis didn’t know what to say to that. He let his guard down by looking down briefly, until Harry took a step closer. Louis did not take one back.

“Every time I looked into your eyes,” Harry started, stopping a short moment as his eyes looked between Louis’. “I just saw a man trying to protect the world, as if it was his job to do so.”

“It is,” Louis shot back.

Harry chose not to argue. “I don’t know what pushed you to do what you do: dress up at night and wear a mask. I just know that you’re only doing what you think is right, and for that, I cannot fault you.”

Louis let the words sink in. Slowly, he nodded. “Thank you for that.” A few seconds of silence. “So you’re not gonna arrest me? Shame, I’ve always wanted you to manhandle me.”

Louis swore he saw Harry’s cheeks turn red as he barked one of his adorable laughs that Louis felt blessed to be able to hear. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Louis declared proudly with a grin, raising his chin.

Harry took a final step closer, and Louis finally took one back. His bum hit the desk behind himself, and he felt the heat rising up behind his neck and cheeks as Harry smiled down on him. He had him cornered, but Louis could very well reverse the situation, and they both knew it. Louis didn’t do it.

“Your eyes are so blue,” Harry then said, whispered. “They’ve always stood out.”

Louis once again ignored the heat. “It’s why I wear the mask.” It wasn’t, but it made Harry smile nonetheless. “How’s your wound?”

Harry did not even look down at the said wound. “It’s all good,” he said. His eyes were so green, so beautiful. Louis had spent countless of times thinking of them. Those same eyes that had looked at him with anger, annoyance, fear, surprise… Somehow, they always had been gentle as well. But now there was something else in there.

“So you’re gonna let me walk free, Officer?” Louis murmured, his eyes falling to Harry’s mouth without meaning to. He didn’t even try to hide it however. When he looked back up, Harry was now staring at his.

“On one condition.”

Somehow, Louis thought he knew what it was.

A hand was pressed against his back, pushing him closer as their lips collided. Louis wasn’t going to lose balance or anything, but he still wrapped one arm around Harry’s neck, pressing his lips closer to Harry’s. He heard Harry inhale through the nose, and when he seeked entrance to Harry’s mouth, he was met with no resistance. Harry pulled him closer by the waist, and Louis’ fingers tangled with Harry’s hair.

If you had told him some months ago that he’d be kissing a police officer, he would have laughed in your face. And yet, this kiss was the thing that made the most sense to this day.

When they pulled apart, way too quickly for Louis’ liking, Harry’s lips were red and might have teeth marks. Not that the man seemed about to complain.

“Always wanted to do that, Officer?” Louis teased, but the casual tone wasn’t believable through his pants. He was clearly as affected as Harry.

“Shut up,” Harry said, smiling so hard that Louis saw dimples.

“Anything you say, Officer. Though I’m pretty sure usually it goes, ‘anything you say can and will be held against y—”

Louis was shut up when Harry kissed him again.

That was Louis’ plan all along anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> **Thank you for reading, hope you liked it.**
> 
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